Community Engagement Manager

The Community Engagement Manager (CEM) will provide ongoing leadership and project management to enable and strengthen local ownership of nonpartisan civic engagement work in lower-turnout neighborhoods after the formal Voter Engagement Project and Redstone support conclude in December 2026.  

We are seeking someone with proven success and experience independently managing multiple workstreams, timelines, and a variety of stakeholders. The CEM will work closely with community partners, the Advisory Committee, and Houston Endowment to set timelines, milestones, and deliverables with particular attention to on-the-ground engagement with stakeholders. Familiarity with the civic engagement landscape, community partners, and/or project neighborhoods is helpful but not required; more important is the ability to learn and build relationships quickly, and to apply strong project and stakeholder management skills in a complex, fast-moving, trust-based context. A successful CEM will foster authentic ownership and meaningful mutual accountability among local stakeholders to ensure high-quality nonpartisan civic engagement that centers lower- and mid-propensity voters. 

The ideal candidate will work alongside the Redstone team beginning in September 2026 and will step into full Project and partner management responsibilities in January 2027. The role is a contract position running from September 2026 through December 2027 (approx.15 months) with the desire for a successful CEM to extend through 2028. Further engagement beyond 2028 will be driven by local partners’ and the CEM’s work and decisions about the path forward. 

The Community Engagement Manager will be responsible for the following tasks: 

Project management and coordination (~45% of time) 

• Provide overall leadership, project management, and mutual accountability for ongoing nonpartisan civic engagement efforts in lower-turnout neighborhoods, working closely with community partners to set goals, timelines, milestones, and deliverables  

• Support community partners to develop and implement plans to gather ongoing community input (e.g. community council facilitation, focus groups, interviews, and surveys) 

• Coordinate partner activities across neighborhoods and organizations to keep schedules, resources, and priorities aligned 

Engagement with the Advisory Committee, fiscal sponsor, and Houston Endowment (~30% of time) 

• Serve as the primary liaison to the Advisory Committee, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Houston Endowment, and potentially additional funders as relevant, maintaining a detailed stakeholder engagement work plan and reporting regularly on the interests, concerns, and capacity of community partners 

• Support Advisory Committee members to design and lead their engagement with initiative partners and activities (e.g., ensure committee meetings are set up, facilitate connections between committee members and opportunities/needs spotted during project management and partner engagement, help committee leaders establish systems to track commitments like fundraising activities) 

• Help community partners prepare to deliver strategic updates, recommendations, and reporting to the Advisory Committee, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and Houston Endowment  

Partner relationship management and capacity building (~25% of time) 

• Manage relationships with local partners, holding regular check-ins to ensure ongoing alignment with voter engagement goals  

• Help local partners continue to strengthen project management and coordination capacity to develop data-informed neighborhood voter engagement plans and make strategic program selections, including support for data collection, analysis approaches, and alignment with program tools as needed 

Key qualifications 

Essential qualifications  

• At least five years of related work experience, including project or program management, team leadership, and/or organizational leadership (e.g., nonpartisan campaign experience, philanthropy, community engagement, etc.). Prior civic engagement experience is not required, but the ability to get up to speed quickly and build trust and credibility with all stakeholders is essential to be successful in the role.  

• Ability to work independently, taking ownership of the work and timeline and looping in key stakeholders to provide updates and engage in the decision-making process as needed. 

• Demonstrated project management experience and strong organizational skills, with a proven ability to coordinate and execute complex work involving multiple stakeholders, evolving workstreams, and simultaneous deliverables. 

• Demonstrated leadership experience, with the ability to serve as a liaison and represent a project effectively to advisory committees, funders, and other senior stakeholders. 

• Experience and comfort working with individuals of varied levels of seniority and from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. 

• Commitment to nonpartisan civic engagement and strong judgment about how to advance nonpartisan work in complex contexts. 

• Knowledge of and experience with communities in the Houston metro area, especially those that tend to have lower voting rates. 

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. 

• Located in Houston, able to travel around the metro area as needed, and able to work productively without a traditional office. 

• Flexibility to work weekends and outside standard 9-5 hours as needed (e.g., to participate in community events, stakeholder meetings, and program activities). 

Preferred qualifications 

• Experience working in direct client service settings.  

• Working proficiency in Spanish. 

• Lived and/or professional experience in any of the seven project neighborhoods. 

• Familiarity with voter engagement and data tools, digital engagement platforms, or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. 

Terms 

• We expect the consultant to work approximately 35-40 hours per week, although needs will vary depending on the election cycle timing. 

• Contract duration: approximately September 2026 through December 2027, with potential for a further contract in 2028. 

• Reimbursement for necessary travel expenses. 

• Compensation will be based on experience, with a range of $95,000–$105,000. 

• This is an independent contractor engagement and does not include employee benefits. 

To apply 

• Please submit a resume and cover letter using the application link by August 24, 2026. 

• Interviews will begin the week of August 24th or 31st, with a target start date in September.